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Find out which colleges and universities were rated as the most sustainable for 2018, and their best practices in 17 high-impact areas

by Brianna Crandall — September 12, 2018 — The Sustainable Campus Index, recently published by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), recognizes top-performing colleges and universities overall and in 17 sustainability impact areas, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS). The report also highlights innovative and high-impact initiatives from institutions that submitted STARS reports in the most recent calendar year.

Institutions that achieved the top spot overall according to institution type are:

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Associate Colleges — Nova Scotia Community College

Baccalaureate Institutions — Dickinson College

Master’s Institutions — Green Mountain College

Doctoral Institutions — University of California, Irvine

Institutions that achieved the top spot in each sustainability topic area are listed below. The full list of top performers is provided in the report.

Curriculum — Green Mountain College

Research (tie) — University of California, Irvine and University of California, San Diego

Campus Engagement — Berea College

Public Engagement — Colorado State University

Air and Climate (tie) — Green Mountain College and Université Laval

Buildings — University of California, Irvine

Energy — American University

Food and Dining — Sterling College

Grounds — Cascadia College

Purchasing — Macalester College

Transportation — Columbia University

Waste — New Mexico State University

Water — Princeton University

Coordination and Planning — University of Alberta

Diversity and Affordability — Stanford University

Investment and Finance — Green Mountain College

Well-being and Work — Saint Mary’s College of California

The full list of top performers is provided in the report.

According to AASHE Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser:

The institutions featured in this year’s Sustainable Campus Index are making meaningful contributions to sustainability on their campuses and surrounding communities. They illustrate the leadership role higher education can play in contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) is a transparent, self-reporting framework developed by AASHE for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. With over 900 participating institutions, STARS is touted as the leading tool for measuring higher education sustainability performance. 164 reports were submitted in the most recent calendar year, resulting in a 27 percent increase over the previous year and a fifth consecutive year of growth. All reports are publicly accessible on the STARS website.